Introduction to Music Samantha Rimbey
Online presentation 4/26/11
Online presentation 4/26/11
Native American Music
Music is a word that according to many people should be used as a way of relaxation or a way to relieve stress. To these people music is very important and is a means of life. Or to others it is just another part of life where it doesn’t mean much. These people do not appreciate music the way it should be. In certain cultures music sounds and means something different. The music from early America, Native Americans was very interesting and lively.
Native American Drummer
The history of the Native Americans is told through the use of music. Each tribe had its own set of history and music. The historical narratives vary widely from tribe to tribe. Some of the musical instruments and pictographs are dated back as far as the seventh century. The Native American musical culture was split up into different cultural areas that had their own musical aspects. The Southwestern United States Native Americans used many different instruments which included: plank resonators, foot drums, percussion stones, shaken idiophones, vessel rattles, copper and clay bells, bull roarers, decomposable whistles and flutes, clay resonator whistles, shell trumpets, and prehistoric reed instruments. The Southern Navajo and apache tribes sang in Plains-style nasal vocals with unblended monophony. The Pueblos were more relaxed with a low range and highly blended monophonic styles. The Eastern woodlands of the United States and Canada Native Americans were distinguished by their call and response signing; this is referred to as antiphony. Some of songs were very complicated and complex; being closely related to the ritual dance. This type of signing could only be found in this area of the Native American culture. The characteristics of this entire area include short iterative phrases, reverting relationships, shouts before, during, and after singing, anhematonic pentatonic scales, simple rhythms and meter and, antiphonal or responsorial techniques including "rudimentary imitative polyphony.” In the plains area music was unblended monophony. They used incomplete repetition. End-blown flutes and large double-sided skin drums were the most common in the area. This plains area music is characterized by extreme vocal tension, pulsation, melodic preference for perfect fourths and a range averring a tenth, rhythmic complexity, and increased frequency of tetratonic scales. The Sun Dance is most popular here. The music of the Great Basin was simple. It was characterized by short melodies with a range smaller than an octave, moderately-blended monophony, relaxed and open vocals, and paired-phrase structures. The form would be diagrammed as AA BB CC. The Northwest Coast music used open vocals with monophony, although polyphony does occur. The Northwest Coast is the only are of the Native Americans that had polyphony. The rhythms are complex and declamatory. They use a wide variety of whistles, flutes, horns, and percussion instruments. The vocals of the area were very tense, produced a dynamic contrast, ornamentation, pulsation, and often used sudden accents in one held tone. Finally, the Alaskan, Northwest Territories of Canada, and Greenland Native Americans were well known for their unusual throat-singing. Narrow-ranges melodies are common in this area. The instruments most commonly found are the box drum and tambourine. “Eskimo” music was one of the simplest on the continent. The music of the Native Americans could be very complicated or simple depending on the area you were in. This music is still alive in these areas today; you just need to look for them. (Wikipedia – Native American Music)
The Native Americans had a very distinct culture and set of music aspects. The music from their time was much different than what we have now (Wikipedia - Native American Music). Here is an example of a Native American spirtual song called the "Spirit Dancer," http://www.youtube.com/user/pushthelimit?feature=pyv&ad=7381079257&kw=native%20american%20music#p/u/0/Ze0dpXuvxFg (Youtube - "Spirit Dancer"). Some Native American is still preserved in this country today. The music was known as traditional tribal music. The music was important in ceremonies, and traditional rituals. Vocalization and percussion are the most important aspects of traditional Native American music; and both of them have their own forms. The vocalization can range from solo to choral to responsive multipart singing. They would normally use their native languages or non-lexical vocals. The percussion most used was drums and rattles. They were used to keep the rhythm steady for the singers. Usually the music begins slow and steady beats and gradually grows to becoming more fast and emphatic. As the music goes on shouts and accented patterns add to the purpose for the singers and dancers. Other drums used in the Native music were American Indian drums, Iroquois and Yaqui water drums, and foot drums. Each had their own sound and way of playing them. The American Indian drums are large or small. The large ones are played communally by groups who sit in circles. The Iroquois water drum is small wooden drum with water inside of it. The wetness and tightness of the tanned hide over the drum produces a change in pitch was the drum is played. The Yaqui water drum is large in size and floats in a tub of water. The outer surface is struck with a drum stick and the vibrations are amplifies using the tub of water as a resonator. Finally, the foot drums were semicircle cross-sectioned hollow logs laid over wood covered “resonating” pits. The Native American flute was another common instrument found in the cultural music. It was used in courtship, healing, meditation, and spiritual rituals. It is the only flute in the world that was constructed with two air chambers. There is a wall inside the flute between the top air chamber and the bottom chamber which has the whistle and finger holes. The top chamber also serves as a secondary resonator, which gives the flute its distinctive sound (Wikipedia - Native American Music). Here is an example of what the flute sounds like, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoDpjyze9KQ (Youtube - Native American relaxation flute and pipes). The instruments of the Native American culture were interesting and very different from what we have today (Wikipedia – Native American Music).
Native American Drums
An example of the use of Native American music would the Sun Dance ceremony. It is a religious ceremony that the Native Americans practiced. It is one of the most well known rituals in the Native American culture. It features specific instruments, songs, and events such as traditional drums, the sacred pipe and tobacco offerings, praying, fasting, and sometimes piercing of the chest or back of men and the arms of women. The Sun Dance is used to make a sacrifice to the “Great Mystery” and to pray while connected to the Tree of life. This is where the piercing comes into play; it is a part of prayer for the benefit of one’s family and community. Not all ceremonies include the piercing event. The dancers at the Sun Dance are the ones who are getting pierced. This show the dancers are one of the most important parts of the ceremony (Wikipedia – Sun Dance). There is a lodge that is built for the main dancer and his group. Here the man and the spirit are meant to be sending messages to the Creator. The dancers are the ones who do the important sacrificial events of the ceremony. The Sun Dance is a special sacrificial ceremony where dance, singing, and drumming are some of the most important parts of the ritual. This ceremony is found in many different Native American areas and each one is a little different (Crysallinks.com).
Painting of a Native American Sun Dance Ceremony
The Native Americans had their own way of music and dancing. The music is very different between all the areas of the Native American culture. However each is used for the same reasons, for ceremonies, rituals, and the passing along of stories and traditions. The music for Native Americans was very important so they could keep their culture alive and continuing into the future. For a while all of this was starting to get lost, but now it is coming back. It is there, you just need to search and find it.
Bibliography
"Native American Music." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_music.
"Sun Dance." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.
"Sun Dance." Crystalinks Home Page. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.
"YouTube - Spirit Dancer." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. http://www.youtube.com/user/pushthelimit?feature=pyv.
"YouTube - Native American Relaxation ~ Flute ~ Pipes." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 27 Apr.
